Peter Houston apologises to Hibs’ John McGinn over ‘penalty’

Falkirk manager Peter Houston has apologised to Hibs midfielder John McGinn after he accused the 21-year-old of going down easily to try and win a penalty.

Hibs felt they should’ve been awarded a spot-kick in the second half of Sunday’s 1-1 Ladbrokes Championship draw with the Bairns when McGinn was tackled by Luke Leahy in the box. Referee John Beaton decided not to award a penalty, even though television replays showed a clear foul on McGinn.

Luke Leahy's challenge on John McGinn went unpunished despite it being a clear penalty award. Pic: SNS

Houston was quick to hit out McGinn, who won Hibs a dubious penalty when they prevailed 1-0 at Falkirk earlier in the season. “John’s got to be careful he doesn’t become a player in the headlines all the time for going down,” the Bairns boss told BBC Scotland in the immediate aftermath.

But speaking to Falkirk’s official website on Monday, Houston apologised, saying: “After reviewing the footage of the incident in hindsight John, who is an extremely talented football player, had a strong case for a penalty and fair credit to the lad for attempting to play on. At the time of making the comments I hadn’t seen the footage properly. I’ve called Alan Stubbs this morning to apologise to John for the comments that were made.”